Hot Topics:

Rod: Retirement announcement by Elton 'stinks of selling tickets'

The Lowell Sun

Updated:
03/23/2018 09:38:35 AM EDT

Safe to say Elton John won't be hugging Rod Stewart any time soon. AP FILE PHOTO

Well, Rod Stewart has never been the shy, retiring type.

On "Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen," the legendary rocker commented on the retirement announcement of longtime friend Elton John, and it doesn't sound like he's a fan. In an emotional interview in January, John announced that he'd be retiring from touring after a three-year, 300-show tour. After the announcement, Stewart gave John some good-natured ribbing. "I did email her and said, 'What? Again, dear?' I didn't hear anything back," Stewart said.

Of his retirement, John said, "My priorities have changed. I have young children." But Stewart seemed a bit skeptical, alluding to ticket sales as being the driving force behind the announcement. Stewart's current tour companion, Cindy Lauper, kind of liked the idea.

Rod Stewart

Lauper said, "That's not a bad idea. We could say, 'For the last time, we're retiring. Then one more time. Well, maybe the second to last time.'"

"It's dishonest. It's not rock 'n' roll," Stewart said.

It's safe to say that Stewart won't be making any grand announcement when he decides to retire.

"I have never spoken about retirement," Stewart said. "If I do retire, I won't make an announcement. I'll just fade away. I don't think it's a big deal, 'I'm going to retire.' It stinks of selling tickets."

Costumer: 'Grinder' star was a Savage

A female crew member who worked on the former Fox comedy "The Grinder" has filed a lawsuit accusing star Fred Savage of verbally harassing and physically striking her on set.

Advertisement

Youngjoo Hwang, who was a costumer on the series, appeared in a news conference with her attorney, Anahita Sedaghatfar, at which she detailed the allegations in a lawsuit against Savage and 20th Century Fox filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Wednesday. Sedaghatfar said the lawsuit charged assault, battery, gender discrimination and gender harassment, among other things.

"From the outset of the show, Mr. Savage was aggressive toward me," Hwang said. "He would routinely curse at me, yell at me, demean me, when all I was trying to do was my job. It became more and more stressful for me to go to work, because I was scared of the abuse and what I would have to encounter on any given day."

Hwang alleged that other women on the set were victimized as well.

"I'm not the only woman on set that Mr. Savage targeted," Hwang said. "There were others, and this was well known on set. During a taping of an episode, I was attempting to brush dandruff off Mr. Savage's jacket. Mr. Savage snapped. He yelled at me, told me not to touch him, and he hit my arm violently three times. I could not stop crying. I was in pain, I was humiliated, and I was scared. This was the last straw for me, because now my physical safety was at risk."

"I immediately reported this incident to my superiors, and rather than taking action against Mr. Savage, they encouraged me to not report Mr. Savage's conduct, because a lot of people would lose their job and I would never work in this industry again. My complaints were ignored. The violence perpetrated against me was ignored, and I was made to feel as if I had done something wrong, that I was to blame, and that I should just keep my mouth shut."

In a statement, Savage refuted Hwang's story: "I have witnessed tremendous courage over these past few months, watching brave women who have come forward publicly fighting through the shame and stigma of harassment. I've seen firsthand the growing support in this movement that has always felt so lacking. As someone who has always tried to live honorably and with integrity, it never dawned on me that my name could be on the other side."

Savage continued: "I was made aware that a woman working in the costume department of a show I was on almost three years ago has claimed that I treated her harshly on set simply because she was a woman. These accusations are completely without merit and absolutely untrue. Fox conducted an extensive internal investigation into her claims, a process in which I fully participated. After concluding a thorough investigation, Fox determined that there was absolutely no evidence to support these accusations. None of her claims could be substantiated because they did not happen."

Welcome to your discussion forum: Sign in with a Disqus account or your social networking account for your comment to be posted immediately, provided it meets the guidelines. (READ HOW.)
Comments made here are the sole responsibility of the person posting them; these comments do not reflect the opinion of The Sun. So keep it civil.